updated: May 9, 2011
Tonight in New York, the Oscars of the food world were in full effect. Initial awards for the James Beard Award announcements for Broadcast Media, Book and Journalism categories were presented on Friday. The fates of the remaining categories were unveiled tonight at a star-studded gala in NYC along with streaming internet updates via the James Beard's official twitter account @beardfoundation.
Huge congrats to all the winners and nominees!
Congratulations to Rene Redzepi and team at NOMA in Copenhagen, Denmark which claimed the coveted repeat spot at Number 1 for S. Pellegrino's World's Best Restaurants. If you were surprised to see El Bulli omitted from this year's list, it's due to the scheduled closing of the famed restaurant in future months for a rebirth into a foundation. Even sans a 2011 award, El Bulli will remain a top restaurant in the hearts and appetites of the many who were fortunate enough to have dined there.
Here are S. Pellegrino's World's 50 Best Restaurants for 2011:
Continue reading "S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2011" »
Trans-pacific focused social network Privy.net, just launched their local Los Angeles dining guide with food-centric cosmpolitan cities New York, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Beijing, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo to soon follow. The "top five" guide is a list of must-visit dining spots which helps visitors and locals discover the best L.A. has to offer. It has a particular focus on authentic Asian cuisines such as Korean Barbeque, Shanghainese, Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, Dim Sum, Japanese Sushi, Hotpot and Vietnamese Pho. The Privy 5 Guide also showcases top-picks from a group of 50 local Los Angeles Asian-American celebrities, entrepreneurs, socialites, community leaders and artists.
Some familiar faces featured in the member "top five" list include Kelly Hu ("X2", "The Scorpion King"), Lisa Ling ("The View", "Oprah"), John Cho ("Harold and Kumar", "Star Trek"), Justin Chon "Twilight"), Liza Lapira ("Fast and the Furious", "21"), Russell Wong ("Romeo Must Die", "The Mummy 3"), Archie Kao ("CSI"), Aaron Yoo ("21", "Disturbia") and Robin Shou ("Mortal Kombat").
I was also asked to contribute my top five to Privy's guide which was slightly difficult to narrow down for this vast, dynamic city. It would've been much easier to come up with a top fifty list, but despite the title of a "top five", my Privy 5 is best described as a slimmed down, eclectic group of eateries that all differ in price point, ethnicity, and ambiance but will fit a varying mood, taste and budget.
See Food Fashionista / Mika Takeuchi's L.A. Privy Top Five HERE
See Privy's Los Angeles City Guide HERE
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7
7 – 9 P M A T T H E W O M E N ’ S B U I L D I N G
3543 18th St . San Francisco, CA 94110
Something smells delicious. Join an enlightening conversation
about how to transform your love of food into a love of writing about food,
and gain insight into the complex and surprising process of assembling
a cookbook.
Amanda Hesser is the author of The Cook and the Gardener and Cooking
for Mr. Latte, and editor of The New York Times’ anthology Eat, Memory.
Her latest book, The Essential New York Times Cookbook, will be published
on October 25 and signed copies will be available for purchase at the event.
Amanda Hesser
acclaimed food writer, cookbook author, cofounder
of www.food52.com, and former food
editor for The New York Times Magazine.
Daniel Patterson
executive chef and owner of San Francisco’s
celebrated restaurant Coi. He will prepare a
tasting plate of dishes from Hesser’s cookbook
(included in your ticket purchase), and
join in the conversation.
Celia Sack
owner of Noe Valley’s Omnivore Books, San
Francisco’s culinary bookstore, and will be our
host for the evening.
Daniel Patterson
The cost of the seminar is $100
To sign up, visit the Pirate Supply Store at
826 Valencia Street, or call 415.642.5905 x210
You may also sign up
online at www.826valencia.org/workshops/adult
All proceeds directly
benefit free student programming at 826 Valencia
FOOD FORWARD - A New Kind of Food TV Show
Are You Hungry for Change?
"Food Forward goes beyond celebrity chefs, cooking competitions, and recipes to reveal the compelling stories and inspired solutions envisioned by food heroes across America who are striving to create a more just, sustainable and delicious alternative to what we eat and how we produce it.
Written by food journalist Stett Holbrook and produced by a veteran documentary film making team led by Greg Roden, Food Forward is a series of thirteen, 30-minute episodes exploring new ideas of food in America as told by the people who are living them. Each episode will focus on a different theme--school lunch reform, urban agriculture, commercial fishing, grass-fed beef, soil science--and spotlight the real people who are creating viable alternatives to how we grow food and feed ourselves."
Food Forward is working hard to raise $125,000 to shoot the pilot episode on urban agriculture in America.
To make a donation to FOOD FORWARD, click HERE
For more information, visit FOOD FORWARD
My dear friend Martin who snapped this picture near his home in Japan, said it just right... "The days of Japanese being smaller are about to be over". Well if anyone takes the Lotteria fast food challenge and orders the basic Lotteria Cheeseburger and adds the maximum ten stackable patties on top of it, they are in for some epic juicy proportions... both literally and figuratively.
Along with Iron Chef, the Japanese are pioneers of extremely crazy reality shows and an obsession for food in all shapes and sizes. Japan is also the home of competitive champion eater Takeru Kobayashi, who scarfed down 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes in the famous Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, which is held every fourth of July on Coney Island. Hearing that, you would think the guy must weigh quite a bit, but the reality is he maintains a six pack and prepares for his contests like a true athlete. But let's keep it real, Kobayashi doesn't eat 100 roasted pork buns in 12 minutes every day like he did at a eating contest in Hong Kong.
So next time you happen to be in Japan, beware of the ginormous Lotteria Tower Burger staring straight at you on the bus stop advertisement. Honestly, with all the incredible food in the land of the rising sun, this will probably be the last thing you are craving, but who knows...your inner Kobayashi may get the best of you. And for those who are curious, the cost of the burger is about 11 U.S. dollars.
photo credit Martin Giles for Food Fashionista
Today is National Garlic Day and I am delighted that this member of the onion family is being celebrated. Yeah, yeah, yeah it does cause unpleasant breath and you can smell it for days in your pores, but who cares...find a partner that also loves garlic. Garlic is easy to grow, and popular around the world since it tastes so excellent in so many various dishes. I love adding it to hummus, antipasto, stir-fries, and the list goes on. The top 10 garlic growers are China, India, South Korea, Egypt, Russia, United States, Spain, Argentina, Myanmar and Ukraine.
Garlic is a Super Food and provides both medicinal and nutritional value. It is claimed to help fight cancer, heart disease, and is also known to regulate blood sugar levels.
We've all heard of garlic warding off vampires, but now that Twilight and True Blood have shown us what Vampires really can look like...hello Vampire Eric Northman, let's hope that's not the case for us Garlic Lovers.
Happy Garlic Day Everyone and if you find your garlicky scent too unbearable, either go sweat it out in a sauna or chew on some parsley. Those two tips have been known to assist in speeding up the removal process of the scent of the stinking rose.
Today I am sharing my love for olives and olive oil. I can't think of anything better than something that is:
1) absolutely delicious
2) attributes to good health
3) enhances natural beautyWe also love mixing it in with our favorite recipes at home. We love dipping our bread in to it at Italian restaurants such as Il Pastaio, Fiamma and Valentino. Olive oil also has religious uses and has been used as fuel for oil lamps. Soaps containing olive oil can be found in many local shops and high-end boutiques. Additionally, olive oil is a popular ingredient in many beauty products and medicinal products.
According to New Beauty Magazine, "Olive Oil has been lauded for it's medicinal properties since ancient times. Perfect for dry skin and hair, studies are beginning to reveal that antioxidant- rich olive oil may be able to protect skin from cancer". Well this sounds like excellent news to us and knowing already that olive oil is a natural fruit juice high in monounsaturated fats, we will continue to enjoy our olive oil in the kitchen along with visits at the local day spa.
Now you can wear your octopus while you eat your octopus thanks to San Francisco based designer Deana Fukatsu, and her OctopusMe jewelry line. Deana actually casts genuine octopus tentacles in sterling silver and then oxidizes the silver for just the right finish. The tentacle earrings (pictured above) are one of the most popular designs, but she also creates Octopus inspired rings and necklaces for both men and women. The earrings are light weight and a definite conversation piece. I recently wore mine while dining at the sushi bar at Nobu and the sushi chef and I had mutually beneficial tako (octopus in japanese) envy.
To purchase your OctopusMe jewelry, visit OctopusMe
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